"It was Neville Bonner, the first Aboriginal member of the national parliament, who first taught me, via Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, how committed Indigenous people could be to the Australia that I believed in," he said.

"It began to dawn on me that Australians should be just as committed to Aboriginal people as they are to us."

Mr Abbott did not go into detail about how he would tackle entrenched problems in remote communities.

But some possibilities were floated, such as employing truancy officers to fine parents when children skip school, rather than the current welfare quarantine scheme.

He also flagged lifting incentives for teachers and health professionals to work in Indigenous communities and making it easier for Aboriginal people on missions to buy their own house.

I think it was a pity that as a government we got hung up on that word, 'sorry'.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott

The Opposition Leader said he was aware the Coalition's track record on Indigenous affairs would cause for suspicion for some, and distanced himself from John Howard, who he served as health minister in the last Coalition government.

"I think it was a pity that as a government we got hung up on that word, 'sorry'," he told the audience.

"John (Howard) was of a generation... where perhaps Indigenous people were not valued as in different circumstances and different times."

Mr Abbott has received some unlikely support from Indigenous leader and former ATSIC deputy chairman Ray Robinson.

"The Gillard Government, especially Jenny Macklin, have done a very poor job," he said.

"They have taken the Aboriginal vote for granted. I say to the Aboriginal people out there now, let's get together and let's vote the Liberal-National party in and let's get a new direction."

Pledge welcomed

In the crowd at the Sydney Institute was Aboriginal leader and former Labor Party president Warren Mundine, who said he was impressed by Mr Abbott's plans.

"He's putting it front and centre, there is a strong personal commitment from him," he said.

"As people know, I do know him personally as well as being and adversary of his, but I know he has got a strong commitment.

"So if there is a change of government then we're very willing to work with both sides of politics."

Social Justice Commisisoner Mick Gooda agreed, saying moving Aboriginal affairs to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet would not damage service delivery.

"I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, to have the Prime Minister overseeing a portfolio like Aboriginal affairs.

But in a statement Federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin described the move as "bureaucratic shuffling".

Greens Senator Rachel Seiwert was also unenthusiastic, saying she wanted to see actual policy detail.

"What policy reforms are they going to be putting in place that actually genuinely increase the rate that we close the gap in life expectancy, the delivery of health services, the delivery of education outcomes," she said.

The Opposition Leader also promised to bring forward for consultation a draft amendment to the Constitution recognising Indigenous Australians within 12 months of office.

Mr Abbott said the issue was a standing reproach to what otherwise was the most free and successful society in the world.

He said an acknowledgement of Aboriginal people as the first Australians would complete the Constitution, rather than change it.

"A referendum recognising Aboriginal people as the first Australians could be a unifying and liberating moment for the nation, even surpassing the 1967 change or the national apology.

"In seeking to establish a bipartisan process, the Coalition acknowledges the difficulty of crafting an amendment that satisfies Aboriginal people while reassuring the wider community that we are not creating two classes of citizen."

The Senate this week passed unopposed a government bill to create an Act of Recognition of Indigenous people intended to pave the way for constitutional change by allowing time to build community support for a referendum.